determined not only
why men fought, but also had a significant influence over
how they fought. The historiography of the
common soldier of the CivilWar has, over the past twenty years or so, come to reflect the complex and often incongruous nature of its subject, bringing greater depth to our understanding of the war as a whole, and the influence of the private soldier on its great events—and, of course, on the decision-making process which brought them about. Ultimately, the Face of Battle for the Civil War is reflected as much in its historiography as in the writings of the men who fought. They were,
in many cases, no more certain of the juxtaposition of one factor or another in sustaining their will to fight. Future academic interpretations might have to move into this gray area rather than be colored black and white.
Notes1.
Marvin R. Cain, A Face of Battle Needed An Assessment of Motives and Men in Civil War
Historiography,”
Civil War History 28 (1982), pp. Anonymous, A Month with the Rebels in Henry S. Commager, ed,
The Blue and the Gray:The Story of the Civil War as told by Participants (New York, 1950), p. 64. The Union army was perhaps even more diverse than that of the Confederacy due to the greater number of immigrants in its ranks see William L. Burton,
Melting Pot Soldiers The Union’s EthnicRegiments (Ames, IA, Earl J. Hess,
The Union Soldier in Battle Enduring the Ordeal of Combat (Lawrence, KS, p. John S.
Jackman Journal, January [nd], 1863, Manuscripts Reading Room, Library of
Congress, Washington, DC.
5.
John F. Lucy,
There’s a Devil in the Drum (London, 1938), quoted in Trevor Wilson,
TheMyriad Faces of War Britain and the Great War,
1914–1918 (Cambridge, 1988), p. In his construction of the model of combat effectiveness Lynn divides motivation into “initial,”
“combat,” and sustaining motivation John A. Lynn,
The Bayonets of the Republic Motivationand Tactics in the Army of Revolutionary France,
1791–1994 (Oxford, 1996, Westview Press edn.), p. James M. McPherson,
For Cause and Comrades Why Men fought in the Civil War (New York, pp. Michael Barton,
Goodmen: The Character of Civil War Soldiers (University Park, PA, pp. John D. Billings, Hardtack and Coffee
in Philip Van Doren Stern, ed,
Soldier Life in theUnion and Confederate Armies (Bloomington, IN, 1961), p. Wilbur J. Cash,
The Mind of the South (New York, 1941, repr. Pelican, 1973), pp. James M. McPherson,
Battle Cry of Freedom The American Civil War (New York, 1988, repr. Penguin, 1990), pp. 6–275; Brian Holden Reid,
The Origins of the American Civil War(London, 1996), pp. 154–7, William Garrett Piston, The st Iowa Volunteers Honor and Community in a Ninety-day
Regiment,”
Civil War History 44 (1998), p. Reid Mitchell,
The Vacant Chair The Northern Soldier leaves Home (New York, 1993), p. McPherson,
For Cause and Comrades, pp. Thomas Hopkin Deavenport Diary/memoir, p. 1, Civil War Collection, Tennessee State
Archives and Library, Nashville, TN (hereafter referred to as TSLA).
16.
Reid Mitchell,
Civil War Soldiers Their Expectations and Experiences (New York, highlights
the importance of patriotism, duty, and community in the motivations of Civil war soldiers Gerald Linderman,
Embattled Courage The Experience of Combat in the Share with your friends: